Crown takes over KG LNG and Kakinada project
Norway-based Crown LNG-owned Krishna Godavari LNG Terminal (KG-LNG) says it's on track with a planned 7.2m t/y LNG regasification terminal offshore Kakinada.
Crown now wholly owns KG-LNG Terminal, previously owned by US-based VGS Cavallo, and completed the purchase after listing on the US-based NASDAQ on July 9 (2024). KG LNG director Shubhankar Chaudhry tells this report the terminal will be a rugged weather resistant Gravity Based Storage (GBS) and regasification project, built on a concrete substructure with in-built LNG topside storage and regas facilities.
Chaudhry adds that Norway's Aker Solutions will be the EPC contractor for this $1.2bn project while talks are at a very advanced stage with several foreign investors for funding this project. Expect a Final Investment Decision (FID) by March 2025, with project construction likely to begin within a month.
As of today, Crown's completion target is the first quarter of 2028. Meanwhile, topside supplier companies Wartsila and Siemens are expected to send teams to India by the end of this month (August 2024) to finalise project details.
Also slated for this month is an agreement between Crown and Kakinada Seaports yard to construct the GBS for $500m. "We've been offered two sites for construction," says Chaudhry, "each with a 14-metre draft."
Aker will supervise a yet-to-be-selected construction contractor. "This will be the first GBS built in Asia," claims Chaudhry.
"And it will be our export facility for the GBS-based LNG projects we are planning in Vietnam and other locations in south east asia which face similar harsh weather conditions; initially, we thought of building the GBS either at a yard in Singapore or in the Philippines but then decided on developing it at Kakinada, which will be an add on to the 'Make in India' for this GBS technology." Moored 19-km out in the Bay of Bengal, the proposed GBS will need no jetty as LNG carriers will discharge LNG directly for regasification.
Once regassified, the R-LNG will then be transported through a 14-inch diameter subsea pipeline to the Kakinada Seaports landfall point and into Brookfield Asset Management's East-West pipeline and GAIL's upcoming Srikakulam to Angul pipeline, expected to be ready by December 2024.